𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒; 𝑻.𝑮𝑰𝒀𝑼𝑼

f i f t y

"i am not the water pillar." giyuu stated. you had never heard him this serious before.

"but giyuu-san-"

"go away."

you heard the front door shutting as tanjiro runs into the kitchen. "i'm sorry, i think i made him angry..."

you let out a sigh, "it's okay. i'll go talk to him."

tanjiro had a look of guilt as he followed you out the house. you could still make out the silhouette of giyuu in the distance and wasted no time chasing after him.

"giyuu, where are you going?" you asked after catching up to him. "why won't you listen? tanjiro is just worried about you," you continued, trying to get a response out of him. "what's wrong?"

giyuu didn't answer your questions, not even bothering to spare you a glance. you could tell he was frustrated. you kept on following him, despite him ignoring you.

you don't know how long you've been walking for, or where you were going, but that didn't matter. "are you going to keep ignoring me?" you asked after a while. the sun was setting and the two of you were far from home at this point. yet giyuu seemed to not care as he continued walking.

you noted how giyuu hasn't eaten anything since this morning. even though he refused to talk to you, you were still worried about him. a city came into view as you followed giyuu down a path. the instant the two of you step foot into the city, you wrapped your hand around his wrist and dragged him along.

you turned around to look at him, "still not talking?" you asked. giyuu remained silent as he stared at your hand that was holding his. he had a frown on his face but made no attempt to pull his hand out of your grasp.

"fine then," you huffed. you started looking around for a place to eat. much to your dismay, everywhere you looked was packed with people. you wanted somewhere quiet so you could talk to giyuu.

you took a right turn down an alley that led to more roads, pulling giyuu with you. you spotted a small stand and made your way there. you felt giyuu slowing down, not wanting to follow you anymore. "giyuu, you haven't eaten anything. i know you're hungry. stop being so stubborn." you tightened your grip around his hand and tugged him along.

the street here was dark as the sun had completely set by now. there were only a few lamps around, giving this place a warm lighting. "hello," you greeted the man behind the stand. "may i get..." you turned to giyuu, raising a brow at him. he kept his head down, staying silent.

"uh, i'll just get one bowl of gyudon, please." you ordered one bowl for giyuu since you already had dinner not too long ago and weren't hungry.

"alright. that's seven hundred and fifty seven yen."

you dug some money out from your pocket and paid for the food before finding a seat. the place was empty, the only customers being you and giyuu. you took a seat across him as you both waited for the food.

you started talking, not caring if giyuu was listening or not. "and what do you mean you're not the water pillar," you continued, still thinking about what he had said to tanjiro. "why are you upset about having that title all of a sudden? you never had a problem with it, well i don't think you did." you don't recall giyuu telling you about him not wanting to be a pillar or anything. but then again, you never knew what he was thinking.

after a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

"i didn't pass the final selection."

now you were confused. you aren't a demon slayer, but you knew certain things about being one since your father was a pillar. in order to become a demon slayer, one must survive seven days in a demon infested forest. giyuu clearly survived. so what did he mean?